


Coroner and a Corpse

by GENM (ERASAMA)



Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Enemies to Lovers, Heart-to-Heart, M/M, Medical Examination, Medical Procedures, Rivals to Lovers, Undressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28857426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERASAMA/pseuds/GENM
Summary: Kujo Kiriya needed more data regarding Bugsters to ensure that the Bugster Virus was effective. After examining almost all of the Bugsters he could find, there was only one person left to examine: Dan Kuroto.
Relationships: Dan Kuroto/Kujou Kiriya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -An opportunity to dive into Bugster anatomy. It’s all based on speculation and headcanon.  
> -Attempting to write a more in-character interaction but with the inclusion of romantic/suggestive gestures.  
> -Eventually strays from canon.  
> -Some body horror included.  
> -An attempt to writing a medical examination.  
> Note, I tried to do some bit of research regarding medical examinations, but please don't expect it to be accurate due to the fact that coroners often examine dead bodies. This is a different case altogether, so the procedure is inaccurate.  
> -Please note that Poppy only appears in chapter one.

“Don’t boss me around,” the stubborn God huffed out a sigh, his attention was stuck on the monitor in front of him, strings of code appearing by the second as his fingers danced continuously on the keyboard, it was a mixture of chaos and grace, the kind that could only be possibly executed by the Mad God.

“Kuroto…!” Poppy, as per usual, kept a pitiful tone when it came to dealing with such a difficult man. She stood in front of him, trying to get his attention, but he seemed more fixated on his work more than anything else. Even if Kuroto cared about Poppy to a certain extent, it’s not like he’d obey her every whim just like that. “I know you’ve already done a lot with fighting by our side… But I think it’s also your responsibility to help with Kiriya’s work.” Poppy put a lot of effort into trying to get him to cooperate with Kiriya when needed, in hopes that the two of them would get along a little more, especially since they’d be seeing each other often.

Poppy glanced over to the coroner who was standing by the door, seeming indifferent about the current situation as he seemed more interested in whatever was on the clipboard he was looking at.

“He’s already collected data from the other Bugsters, why does he need me? Doesn’t he have enough data already?” Kuroto was persistent, finding that contributing to the Bugster Virus vaccine was something of unimportance.

“If I had enough data, I wouldn’t be here,” Kiriya let out a defeated sigh, possibly one of sarcasm; the intent was clear once he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against, “But that’s alright, maybe I don’t need your _Godly Talents_ to help me with this… It would probably be a waste anyway.” It seemed as though he was about to leave the room.

Poppy had a hard time reading Kiriya’s sarcasm sometimes, and Kuroto couldn’t help but take this jab seriously.

“Kiriya, wait…!” Before Poppy could reach Kiriya to stop him from leaving, the sound of Kuroto getting up from his chair was enough to stop the two of them in their tracks.

A sigh escaped Kuroto’s lips, his eyes falling shut as he put both hands on his hips, shaking his head in disappointment “Your attempts at sarcasm were never really effective, Lazer. I thought you should know this,” he pouted, perhaps bothered by Kiriya’s comment about his Godly Talents, “But you shouldn’t doubt my abilities.”

_Bingo. ‘Never really effective’ my ass._ Kiriya knew how to play his cards well, knowing how and where to poke the self-proclaimed God to where he would give in to his whims.

“Yeah? Well I don’t know,” Kiriya, despite already having taunted Kuroto successfully to where his attention was got, decided to tease further “You didn’t seem like you were up to the task…”

Kuroto let in a sharp inhale upon hearing the medical examiner’s condescending tone, irritated by his sarcastic demeanor, he never liked being ridiculed, especially when others would find it funny.

Poppy found the interaction to be very regular, but it was nice to see that they weren’t at each other’s throats for once, playful banter like these signified that they seemed to be getting along.

Kuroto proceeded to shut his laptop, making the decision to take up Kiriya’s offer of being examined to progress the production of the Bugster Virus vaccine, “Shut up,” a sharp exhale accompanied with a stubborn gaze was shot in the direction of Kiriya, who turned around to see the irritated expression on Kuroto’s face “Let’s just get on with the examination quickly so I can get back to work.”

Satisfied with this result, he shook his head slightly, feeling accomplished. _He’s too easy._

“Come on, then. Not like I want to spend more time with you than I have to…”

Kiriya beckoned the self-proclaimed God as if he were a little puppy, upon seeing such an unintentionally cute interaction, Poppy couldn’t help but smile, especially when Kuroto followed along without much complaint, albeit with a stubborn and grumpy expression.

_Have fun, you two…! I hope they don’t start a fight..._


	2. Chapter 2

The atmosphere was awkward at best, Kiriya was used to the cold temperature of the room, and it's not like it was too much of a bother; Bugsters could easily modify their tolerance to certain climates through self-reprogramming, a wonderful skill that humans were unable to achieve through normal means. However, this didn't mean that these abilities were perfect by any means.

Kuroto was caught off guard by the sudden drop in temperature, shivering a bit before regulating his body temperature. He never liked the cold all that much, especially when he was human.

The silence that hung in the air was familiar, the two of them never really had many words to say to each other - or maybe they just  _ didn’t want to  _ say anything to each other.

Nobody really knew what they thought of each other.

Because of the tension between them in their strange relationship, nobody dared to ask. It’s not like either of them would admit to anything.

_ “He’s trash!” “Headache in the form of a person!” “I can’t stand being near that guy!” _

Those were the kinds of things that they usually said about each other, an outward disliking that was once taken seriously but somehow dissolved into something pettier as each day passed.

It was a strange coexistence, where there was outward hatred displayed for one another, but they somehow ended up having to cooperate with each other, or at least tolerate each other to a certain extent.

“Sit there,” a pair of blue rubber gloves wrap around both the medical examiner’s hands as he gestures towards the steel table.

Kuroto silently complies, sitting himself down on the cold surface of the table. His hand grazes the smooth, sanitized surface.  _ Cold.  _ It was as he described, but it didn’t seem to faze him.

“Clothes off,” Kiriya continued to instruct as he seemed to be fixated on the clipboard that he held in his hands.

“Well aren’t you charming,” Kuroto scoffed, folding his arms “Are you sure this is the correct procedure when it comes to examining bodies?”

Here comes the difficult attitude, Kiriya let out an annoyed sigh before putting the clipboard away. He turns to Kuroto, his gloved hand rubbing the back of his neck. The expression on his face was one that resembled a troubled adult who was trying to deal with a stubborn child.

“The others were much easier to deal with,” the hand that rubbed the back of his neck pulled away, he presses his knuckles against his forehead as he tried to fight an oncoming headache that he silently blamed Kuroto for being the cause of his discomfort “Besides, I’m not exactly following the regular medical examination process.”

Kuroto lets out a playful laugh, was this an attempt to taunt the coroner? “You should at least be a little courteous to me…  _ ‘Clothes off’ _ , how deadpan. Is that usually how you tell people to undress?”

“It’s how I’m telling  _ you  _ to undress,” the coroner sighs “Could we  _ please  _ get this over with?”

“You’re no fun, Lazer,” Kuroto’s tone was laced in snark as he proceeds to remove his blazer in a mockingly lazy way which prompted Kiriya to sigh, rolling his eyes in annoyance at such a display.

“What, you want me to do it for you?”

Once those words reached the self-proclaimed God’s ears, he perked up slightly, pausing before regaining his composure. He found himself smirking at the suggestion as his eyes peered up to look at Kiriya who seemed to have an exhausted expression.

Kuroto didn’t say anything, instead, he spread his arms out, welcoming Kiriya’s suggestion.

Kiriya sustains the silence that ensued, only a gentle sigh escapes his lips as he approaches Kuroto who sat on the table. Normally he’d think nothing of this situation, but…

_ It’s just two people. In a cold, dark room… Together. Alone. And one of them is undressing the other… Nothing to it, Kujo. Nothing. Just. Get this over with. _

Kiriya’s hand moved to press the ‘record’ button on a little audio recorder he kept, strapped around his arm during work in order to easily record the proceedings of medical examinations.

“Commencing the proceedings of medical examination number five.”

Kuroto’s incessant grinning made it hard for Kiriya to concentrate on getting the blazer off, the coroner tried not to make any eye contact that would make the situation more awkward than it should be, but carelessly, he let his gaze meet the other’s, and…

While Bugsters normally don’t have the same reflexes as a human, Kiriya liked to keep those little human characteristics to retain a sense of humanity within him. There were some things that he wished he didn’t keep like the way blood rushes to the skin - embarrassed, he tried his best to hide the shyness that overcame him from the momentary eye contact.

Kuroto, on the other hand, didn’t possess such a characteristic that would expose his vulnerability, but needless to say, a strange feeling started filling his chest. Even for someone with such brilliance, he found it hard to decipher what his body was trying to tell him. He wondered if he even had as much control as he assumed he had over his own body.

_ Keep it together… _

Unbeknownst to each other, they’d share the same thought.

Neither of them wanted to appear vulnerable in front of the other, it’s just asking for trouble.

Continuing on in the procedure, Kiriya was able to remove the blazer.

Kiriya hid his expression well, but he was surprised at how well-built Kuroto seemed to be, he thought of the other man to be a lot more lanky, but there was a surprising amount of muscle that was hidden underneath the layer of fabric.

Next, was the removal of the shirt. Kiriya puts his hand on the underside of Kuroto’s arm, lifting it upwards gently, prompting him to lift both arms so he can properly remove the thin, white shirt.

Setting it aside, he tried his best to pry his gaze away from the other man’s well-built and tempting body, but his frantic glancing was telling. However, Kuroto decided to keep quiet about it, despite obtaining the knowledge that Kiriya was someone who likes to stare at nice bodies. He smirked silently at the coroner’s flustered fumbling as he seemed to be awkwardly removing the black leather belt that wrapped around the self-proclaimed God’s waist.

“Do…”

Before Kuroto could even get a chance to speak, Kiriya intervened in a harsh yet embarrassed tone, “Corpses aren’t supposed to speak.”

Kuroto retracted, rolling his eyes yet smiling dismissively. 

_ All I wanted was to offer some assistance,  _ Kuroto watched intently as Kiriya eventually removed the black leather belt, setting it aside.  _ It looks like you have it all covered. _

Removing another man’s pants was already awkward enough, especially in this type of setting. He didn’t have to do it with the other Bugsters, due to the fact that they all had their respective non-human forms, it was less awkward.

The coroner mentally prepared himself, deciding to remove Kuroto’s expensive-looking, black leather shoes. The eventuality of having to remove his jeans came, either way, he tried his best not to think about anything else than the medical procedure, because this was the sole reason he was here, doing this. He wouldn’t be in a room, alone with the man that he loathed, his rival of all people, and undressing him for any other reason.

_ Here goes. _

As Kiriya unbuttons the pair of blue jeans, Kuroto decided that it was a good idea to open his mouth.

“You seem troubled,” the grin on his face was obnoxiously cat-like “Scared that something’s gonna jump out at you?”

The joke only made Kiriya blush even more, he wanted to believe that it was purely out of embarrassment. The image of  _ “something” _ jumping out of Kuroto’s pants was the last thing the coroner wanted to think about.

“Like I said, the dead aren’t supposed to talk,” Kiriya seemed to be seething, but what he didn’t want to admit was it’s because he wanted to fight the awkward feeling of thinking about his rival in any other way.

“Don’t worry your little head off, Lazer,” Kuroto spoke as he pushed himself off the table, Kiriya responded by taking a step back in confusion, “I can handle the rest on my own.”

The coroner sighed as the self-proclaimed God slid the pair of jeans off easily.

“You could’ve done all of that on your own, you know.”

“It was more fun when someone else does it for me,” Kuroto brings his gaze to the coroner as he bends up after removing his jeans, “Don’t you think?”

Kiriya felt strange, especially after what seemed to be the equivalent to foreplay. He tried to shake the feeling off as best as he could.

“Need me to take these off too?” Kuroto slid a thumb into his violet briefs, tugging against it as if to tease the coroner.

“There’s no need,” Kiriya averted his eyes from that specific area where Kuroto was attempting to garner attention. He wouldn’t so easily fall into the enemy’s trap this time around, however tempting it was “Let’s just get this over with.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter includes some body horror.

“Don’t I need to lay down for this?” Kuroto inquired as Kiriya sat Kuroto back down onto the cold, steel table.

“I’m not going to be dissecting you, so there’s not really a need for you to lay down,” the coroner carefully moves his subject’s head in various angles.

Kuroto nodded silently as a response.

“Does it hurt when I do this?” Kiriya seemed to be testing the limits of how far he could twist Kuroto’s head.

“Not really.”

“Does it hurt now?”

“... No.”

“Tell me when, okay?”

Kiriya was being unusually careful, which made Kuroto feel an unusually warm sensation. Was he being cared for, by someone who rarely, if not, never expressed any form of care for the man in any case? Or was he just being careful as to not accidentally knock him down a life in such a horrifying way?

Either way, Kuroto’s head was already one hundred and eighty degrees around by the time he processed the situation.

“Ah.... Does it really not hurt?”

There was a slightly discomforted expression on Kiriya’s face, but he was also impressed by the resilient nature of a Bugster’s body. He never tested this sort of thing out on his own but found it odd that he’d find himself waking up in a strange position after a nap. 

“... No. Well, I disabled my pain receptors, it wouldn’t benefit me if I allowed myself to be vulnerable. But it goes without saying that this…” There was a slightly uncomfortable tone in the game developer’s voice. It wasn’t rare to see him gesturing in strange ways, but perhaps it was weird when someone else does it.

“Right, got it,” the coroner slowly twisted Kuroto’s head back to where it belonged, the expression of an obnoxious smile was right in front of Kiriya, but he expected as much so he didn’t seem to be bothered. “So, aside from teleporting and the lack of aging… Bugsters technically don’t have bones?” Kiriya did something similar with the other’s arms, gently twisting them to where a normal human’s bones would dislocate, but Kuroto didn’t seem fazed.

“Technically, we don’t have bones, but the base structure is based on the human skeletal system, so Bugsters are designed to be upright and bipedal in most cases,” Kuroto spoke, Kiriya nodding along as he continued to twist Kuroto’s arm.

“I wasn’t able to confirm since the other Bugsters seemed to be built differently, but,” the coroner continued to examine the body further, removing a glove to properly feel the texture of Kuroto’s skin against his palm “We don’t have internal organs or anything like that, right?”

It felt like any other human’s flesh, except running his palm quick enough felt like static. The flesh was subtly malleable as well, perhaps it was just that Kuroto’s skin was just soft.

The self-proclaimed God felt the coarse texture of Kiriya’s worn palm against his skin, it felt satisfying and in some ways, comforting. Perhaps shutting himself out from the world made him touch-starved, and thus, unfamiliar to the touch of another person. 

“We don’t,” his voice shook slightly, he tried his best to suppress any form of noise that would give away the fact that he felt satisfied by such a gesture “But individuals can choose how the internal system functions, you should know this.”

“I just wanted to make sure,” Kiriya proceeded to feel around Kuroto’s chest to search for any semblance of a heartbeat, but he was only confirming what he already knew. It was still scary to know that they didn’t have a pulse. There was something off-putting about it, it was one of the only things that Kiriya couldn’t get used to, living life as a Bugster.

“Anything else you need to be sure of?” Kuroto watched intently as Kiriya pulled away from his chest after checking for something that never was there to begin with.

“Well, I’ve covered as much as I can in a physiological sense…” Kiriya huffed out a sigh “No pulse, resilient physicality, lack of natural organs… So, I guess the base structure isn’t very different from any other humanoid Bugster.”

“Correct,” Kuroto nodded, watching as Kiriya retrieves what seems to be a modified Game Scope from a tray of tools.

“I’ll give you a few pointers,” he continued to watch intently as Kiriya started scanning the surface of his body “You might notice a difference in certain Bugsters. The ones like Salty, Alhambra, and Revol are categorized as ‘imperfect’, whereas Graphite and Poppy are ‘perfected’. Parado is considered a prototype, he’s special; his form is complete and yet he can coexist with the host.”

Kiriya held the Game Scope over Kuroto’s head first, collecting whatever data he could. “Interesting. What about us?”

“Us?” Kuroto pauses for a moment, scoffing for a moment.  _ As if I’d bracket myself with you.  _ Somehow, he decided against saying it out loud.

It took him a moment to think about it, his eyes wandered around the room then back to Kiriya who had finished scanning him for data. The coroner still seemed to be waiting for an answer whilst keeping busy with work.

Kiriya busied himself by filling out a form that was laid out on a clipboard, perhaps it was regarding the information he had gathered.

“I haven’t really thought about an actual term,” Kuroto pondered for a moment “I suppose ‘those who overcame death’ is a bit too wordy.”

Kiriya scoffed “It would describe us perfectly though,” a weak smile faded from his face, Kuroto was able to notice it.

“I’ll figure that out later,” the coroner sighed, putting the clipboard away “I’ve been wondering about something.”

Kuroto raised a brow, curious as to what else Kiriya wanted to know.


	4. Chapter 4

“Emu told me something a few days ago when he saw me doing research regarding Bugsters,” the coroner relaxed a bit, taking a seat next to Kuroto on the steel table; the other man responded with shifting over slightly; was it out of politeness or instinct? Who knows. “He told me some things about Parado, about him developing unexplored feelings at some point.”

“Hm?” Kuroto let out a curious hum, wondering where this was going to lead, although he had a slight idea already.

“Were Bugsters designed with emotions in mind?”

His suspicions were confirmed, luckily he already came up with an answer.

“Bugsters, as they  _ are  _ technically a virus, they have the ability to evolve and mutate. At the baseline, they were programmed in a specific way. For example, Graphite’s ‘honorable’ personality, or Poppy’s ‘bubbly’ personality. Parado had an arrogant personality, if you’ve paid attention to how he acted as Genius Gamer M, then you would be able to see it. He did care about his comrades, but I suppose it mutated to such an extent.”

“I see, I suspected as much,” Kiriya’s voice seemed to trail off, as if he was still wanting to ask more questions. It seemed like the opportune moment to do so. He couldn’t lie when it came to wanting to know more about Kuroto. The ex-CEO was shrouded in so much mystery, such a vague man with a strong motivation to carry out his dream, but what was his dream? What did he really want?

Kuroto noticed the unsatisfied expression on Kiriya’s face, it wouldn’t hurt to entertain the coroner for a little while longer, wouldn’t it?

“Lazer, do you have anything else you want to know?”

“Huh?” Kiriya took a reluctant glance at Kuroto for a moment, seeming aloof. Perhaps he was thinking about how he wanted to ask the questions he was thinking about.

“I’ll give you a few more of my blessings today,” a smile stretched across Kuroto’s face as he spoke, “I’ll answer anything you want to know.”

“Well,” Kiriya huffed out a nervous sigh, trying to compose himself in a way that wouldn’t end up with him embarrassing himself in front of his own rival.  _ There are no stupid questions, and Hell, he said he’d answer anything. _

“I’ll ask you this, then,” he didn’t know how to word this in a way that wouldn’t be rude, but did he really need to be polite around this man? “Does your entire personality revolve around you being ‘God’, or… I don’t know,” Kiriya paused for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. It was hard for him to make eye contact, but Kuroto seemed patient enough; Kiriya continued after letting out a sigh “Do you care about anything- or anyone, aside from yourself?”

It seemed as though Kuroto had a hard time thinking about how to answer this question. Something that was supposed to be so simple was taking Kuroto a minute or so to think about, Kiriya wondered if Kuroto could even process the question.

“Well,” a sigh escaped Kuroto’s lips “If I didn’t care about anything else, I wouldn’t have agreed to do this.”

“I thought you only did this because you were upset at me teasing you.”

“... Do you really think I’m that childish?”

“Well…”

“I enjoy bantering every now and again… Hm, I suppose it was foolish of me to assume you thought highly of me.”

That sentence could only make the coroner chuckle, chuckle in a way that ended up being a bit sad. “Did you really think I thought any other way about you?” The tone in the coroner’s voice was a bit somber. Sometimes he thought things would be different if they met under different circumstances.

The question gave Kuroto pause, an inexplicable notch in his throat. Normally, he wouldn’t think anything of it, but there was something that prompted a certain feeling within him.

_ I was programmed perfectly, wasn’t I? _

It couldn’t be that he was upset that Kiriya didn’t feel differently about Kuroto after all this time, maybe it was just his ego being bruised knowing that someone didn’t appreciate his Godliness.

“You can just say you hate me, you know.”

The tone in Kuroto’s voice had more bite than usual, it felt as though he was spiteful. His gaze darted elsewhere, the snappy tone didn’t seem sarcastic but more hurt.

“I… I didn’t say I hated you.” It’s hard to tell if an avid liar was telling the truth, isn’t it?

“You didn’t say it, but I know you do.” And it’s hard to budge someone who is persistent.

“Don’t act like you know everything, asshole.”

Kuroto had nothing to retaliate with, it was often that Kiriya got the last say in. The only person that was able to silence the self-proclaimed God was a mere coroner, how embarrassing. Feeling humiliated despite being alone with someone else in a cold, dark room, his posture sunk slightly.

“Sheesh,” Kiriya huffed out a slightly irritated sigh, “I ask you a simple question, then you give me a vague question and have the nerve to be stubborn about it.”

“What do you want me to answer, then, huh?”

“Yes,” Kiriya turned to look at Kuroto who seemed to be involuntarily blushing out of embarrassment, “or No.”

It took Kuroto a moment, but he was able to get over his ego for just a moment, miraculously enough, he blurted out “Fine, yes… So what if someone like me cares about others?”

The stubborn demeanor displayed in front of the coroner accompanied by that kind of answer was able to make him laugh, it reminded him of a kid who tried to deny his true feelings in an attempt to be ‘cool’, and it backfired.

“You know,” Kiriya swung his legs, his posture was relaxed. “It’s not something to be ashamed about, caring for others. I wonder why you hide that part so much.”

“You wouldn’t understand it.”

“Perhaps.”

Kuroto was quick to regain his posture, he felt lighter after admitting to something embarrassing. Maybe that sort of thing was good for him? He spent no time thinking about it too deeply, instead, he had questions of his own.

“I want to know something, Kujo Kiriya.”

The coroner turned to the other man, confused. “What is it?” he answered.


	5. Chapter 5

_ What could someone who calls themselves God possibly want to know about me?  _ It’s rare for Dan Kuroto to ask about things like this, especially due to his cold and distant nature, he usually is able to figure things out on his own.

It suddenly hit the coroner that the man next to him had nothing but his underwear and pride on, it was a bit comical, now that he thought about it. Kuroto didn’t seem so bothered by it, maybe it was because he was a God that transcended human feelings, it wasn’t so clear.

“Before you ask,” Kiriya pushed himself off the steel table, turning to the pile of clothing that was beside him, the fabric of the blazer and shirt were soft, whereas the jeans were rough, “You can put these back on.”

Kuroto received the bunched up clothing from the coroner, scoffing, accompanied by a sly smirk “I was thinking you weren’t going to ask, already had enough of my pristine figure?”

“Hey, do you want me to answer that question you had or not?” Kiriya found it a little funny, funny enough to laugh a bit. He assumed that the self-proclaimed God wasn’t being so serious, but he couldn’t lie about the fact that Kuroto’s figure was pretty attractive.  _ I can look at the menu,  _ he thought to himself,  _ I just can’t order. _

Huffing out a short sigh, the bunched up clothing faded into a bunch of pixels before grouping themselves onto Kuroto, forming what seemed to be clothing.

“Sheesh, you could’ve just done that from the beginning,” the back of Kiriya’s palm pressed against his forehead, as if he was fighting an oncoming headache, a tired expression on his face, “You keep making things inconvenient for me.”

“I’ll let you know this,” Kuroto smirked, folding his arms “It’s always on purpose.”

“Right, of course. Now, about that question…”

“Hm,” was it a hard question to ask? There was a feeling of nervousness, as though there would be embarrassment if he asked this sort of question. Maybe God wasn’t so fearless, but what was he so scared about? If the answer wasn’t the one he was looking forward to, then things would be like before, would it? Then again, what kind of answer was he looking for?

There was no reason to hold back on asking, Kuroto thought. Any more stalling would make things more awkward than it needed to be.

“Kujou Kiriya,” Kuroto muttered to himself, seeming thoughtful. His expression was hard to read. “I wonder what he thinks of me, really.”

Was that the question? The coroner was perplexed, what did the self-proclaimed God think he thought about him?

From the looks of things, it should be obvious, shouldn’t it?

_ “You’re annoying!” “I hate you!” “I get a headache when I’m within five meters of you!” _

Was it so hard to comprehend? They hated each other, right? Maybe over time, things have changed. It wasn’t so easy for these two people to be honest about their feelings, after all, they surrounded themselves with deceiving others.

Maybe they lied so much they even ended up lying to themselves about how they really felt.

_ No,  _ Kiriya thought to himself  _ There is hatred, isn’t there? _

There wasn’t a heart in Kujo Kiriya’s chest to bear the flames of hatred, he couldn’t feel the same emotions he had that while ago.

“I’m…” Kiriya paused, he gently scratched his bottom lip, eyes trailing around the ground below his feet as if to ponder for a moment, “I’m not sure.”

_ You’re not sure,  _ Kuroto’s grip on the edge of the table tightened for a moment out of instinct.  _ It’s better than a plain “I really do hate you”. _

Because being liked is what everyone wants, right?

“It’s not that I hate you,” Kiriya sighed, his eyes glanced up towards Kuroto who seemed to perk up slightly after hearing that remark, “But don’t get me wrong, I don’t like you either.”

“Hm,” Kuroto lets out a thoughtful hum, “The feeling is mutual.”

The two men found it a relief, some sort of weight being lifted from his chest after being able to express these feelings that, to normal people, wouldn’t seem like a big deal, but they weren’t normal people.

_ I’m glad I could finally say it to you.  _ This is what they both thought, but it’s something that they couldn’t bring themselves to say verbally.

Before the atmosphere would have the chance to get more awkward, Kiriya cleared his throat, patting Kuroto on the shoulder, “Well, I guess this concludes today’s session.”

“Today’s session? You don’t mean to tell me that you’re going to examine me again, are you?”

Kiriya responded with a shrug, “Depends. I’m still working on a prototype vaccine, gonna have to test it on previous victims, then we’re going to have to figure out how to recover the people who’ve disappeared…” His words trailed off at the last bit, perhaps it wouldn’t be a good time to talk about all of that at the moment.

_ We,  _ Kuroto was silent at the mention of those who had disappeared due to succumbing to the Bugster Virus, there was a slight pain in the back of his head, maybe it was the guilt he never admitted to after knowing what impact he had on the lives of those who were close to the victims.  _ We will figure it out? As in, together. Us, together…? _

Kuroto was someone who had a hard time understanding the feelings of others, in the same way nobody understood how he felt. He always took pride in his decisions, wanting to progress humanity in such a selfish way. Maybe part of him, what remained of his lingering humanity, caused him to feel an inexplicable ache, unbeknownst to him, it might be the guilt that he never could acknowledge.

“Nothing is impossible for my Godly talents.”

“Is that your way of saying you’d help?”

Kuroto scoffs, the coroner knew him well, it seems.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Kiriya sighed, “Come along, now. Let’s get you back to CR.”

“We have the ability to teleport,” Kuroto dragged his soles along the smooth surface of the hospital floor, “Why do we have to walk?”

“I like walking,” Kiriya only had a simple response, he didn’t have much to say. Was there anything more to say? It was just that simple, after all.

“You’re just like a human.” Kuroto folded his arms, watching as Kiriya fumbled through some paperwork as they walked.

“I’d like to think I’m still human,” Kiriya sighed, this type of conversation was a bit sensitive, but he tried to keep himself composed.

“Do you not like being a Bugster?”

“Being a Bugster has its merits, I’ll admit, but…” Kiriya’s words trailed off, as though he was focusing on reading a part of his report, but he was just bluffing.

Kuroto didn’t bother to push the conversation any further, he knew the type of person Kiriya was, and he knew what the coroner thought about living the life of a Bugster. Was it his responsibility to do something about it? Who knows. Kiriya wouldn’t be the one to be pleading “O please return my humanity, almighty God”, the man was too stubborn to beg on his knees for his life a second time.

“Did you not want to be revived?” The God wasn’t immune to curiosity, he figured that knowing a little more about the coroner wouldn’t hurt.

“... It’s hard to say,” Kiriya’s eyes peered towards the ground after he arranged the papers in his hands, “I like my life, I guess. It’s just unnatural.”

Kuroto fell silent, he didn’t exactly understand why Kiriya found it hard to answer this question. Humans are complicated creatures, aren’t they?

“I guess that’s the difference between you and I,” Kiriya shrugged, the two of them seemed to not notice how close they seemed to be walking together, “You’d rather be immortal, and I’d rather live one day at a time.”

“You’ve experienced death once,”

“You have too.”

“Aren’t you worried about dying?”

“I’m not afraid of dying a natural death, no…” The coroner stopped in his tracks, his knuckle rubbing against his brow, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Kuroto stopped a few paces in front of him. He was struggling to grasp the idea of someone not wanting to live forever, he just couldn’t understand it.

“... That’s why I like to live one day at a time, so I can live life to the fullest, and then pass on when the time comes.”

Kiriya’s smile had a somber tone to it, he had a considerably strange yet familiar relationship with death. Being a medical examiner, he had to face those whose clocks were stopped by the hand of fate. It was hard for him not to think about death at all.

_ Is this what it means to live?  _ The innermost confines of the self-proclaimed God’s mind, where thoughts that were locked away after his humanity had been thrown away, it was almost like someone else's mind was in his; someone like himself, yet someone other than himself was trying to communicate with him.  _ I wonder if she lived life to the fullest before… … … _

“Hey, you okay?”

Kuroto snaps out of his trance for a moment, Kiriya was right in front of him, the back of his palm pressing against the dazed game developer’s forehead.

Kuroto pushed the hand away gently, “I’m fine,” his face was flushed with a light pink tint, being checked on by Kiriya of all people, it felt strange whenever someone, especially the coroner, showed an ounce of care for him.

“Something happen? You went dead silent for like, a minute and a half,” Kiriya scoffed, “Really unlike you.”

“Very funny, ever consider becoming a comedian?” Finally, cutting out the tension with sarcastic remarks.

Kiriya didn’t bother to respond but continued on walking the self-proclaimed God back to CR, where he would return to his digital prison.

“Hey, God,” Kiriya turned to Kuroto, who seemed to still feel a little embarrassed from spacing out, “Do Bugsters get sick?”

“Don’t be silly.”

“Hah, just pullin’ your leg.”


End file.
